🔗 Share this article

Over an extended period, threatening phone calls continued. Initially, supposedly from a former police officer and a retired army general, later from law enforcement directly. In the end, a local artisan states he was summoned to the police station and told clearly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

This third-generation resident is among those resisting a expensive project where this historic settlement – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be bulldozed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is exceptional in the planet," states Shaikh. "Yet they want to eradicate our social fabric and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of this community stand in sharp opposition to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the settlement. Homes are built haphazardly and typically without proper sanitation, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the atmosphere is permeated by the unpleasant stench of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the promise of the slum's redevelopment into a modern district of high-end towers, well-maintained green spaces, modern retail complexes and residences with multiple bathrooms is a hopeful vision come true.

"We don't have proper healthcare, roads or sewage systems and there's nowhere for children to play," says a tea vendor, in his fifties, who moved from Tamil Nadu in 1982. "The only way is to demolish everything and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

Yet certain residents, like the leather artisan, are fighting against the plan.

All recognize that Dharavi, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring investment and development. But they worry that this initiative – lacking public consultation – could potentially turn premium city property into a luxury development, displacing the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have resided there since the late 1800s.

This involved these shunned, migrant workers who developed the uninhabited area into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose economic value is valued at between one million dollars and a substantial sum a year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Of the roughly one million inhabitants living in the crowded sprawling neighborhood, fewer than half will be able for new homes in the redevelopment, which is expected to take a significant period to complete. Additional residents will be relocated to wastelands and coastal regions on the remote edges of the city, potentially divide a historic social network. Certain individuals will be denied homes at all.

People eligible to stay in the area will be provided apartments in tower blocks, a significant rupture from the evolved, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has maintained this area for generations.

Industries from clothing production to ceramic crafts and waste processing are expected to shrink in number and be relocated to an allocated "industrial sector" far from residential areas.

Existential Threat

In the case of this protester, a leather artisan and multi-generational inhabitant to call home this community, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, multi-level facility creates apparel – sharp blazers, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – distributed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and internationally.

Household members resides in the accommodations below and his workers and garment workers – migrants from other states – reside in the same building, permitting him to sustain operations. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are frequently 10 times more expensive for basic accommodation.

Harassment and Intimidation

In the government offices in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project shows a contrasting perspective. Slickly dressed people move around on cycles and e-vehicles, purchasing continental baked goods and pastries and having coffee on a patio adjacent to a coffee shop and treat station. This depicts a stark contrast from the affordable idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that maintains local residents.

"This represents no development for us," explains the artisan. "It represents a huge real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for us to survive."

Additionally, there exists concern of the development company. Managed by an influential industrialist – a leading figure and an associate of the government head – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

Even as the state government calls it a joint project, the developer invested $950m for its majority share. A lawsuit claiming that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the business group is being considered in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

After they started to publicly resist the project, local opponents assert they have been subjected to a long-running campaign of harassment and intimidation – including phone calls, direct threats and implications that criticizing the project was equivalent to anti-national sentiment – by individuals they assert represent the corporate group.

Among those suspected of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c